As consumers worldwide started avoiding cash in fear of the ravaging Covid-19 pandemic, the global contactless payment market will hit $1.6 trillion in value by 2024, data presented by Buyshare has revealed.
Also, the data revealed that before the end of 2021, contactless payments hit a $665bn transaction value, with China and the Far East generating $850B Worth of Contactless Transactions.
Contactless payments are a quick, secure, and easy way to purchase products or services by simply holding a card or smartphone up to a payment reader for the transaction to proceed.
These tap-and-go payments became especially appealing to consumers amid the pandemic, allowing them to pay for goods and services without the need to swipe, enter a personal identification number, or sign for a transaction. Consumers can also make contactless payments by connecting their credit cards with a payment app like Apple Pay or Google Pay on their smartphone or smartwatch.
Over the years, this payment method became very popular in China, Australia, Canada, South Korea, and the United Kingdom. However, the COVID-19 fuelled the growth of contactless transactions among American consumers as well.
Last year, the global contactless payments market was worth $482.7bn, revealed the Statista and Juniper Research data. As the number of people choosing tap-and-go payments continues rising, this figure is expected to jump by another 40% in 2021. Statistics show the following years are set to witness a surge in contactless payments, with their value rising by another $1 trillion by 2024.
China and the Far East is the leading region for this type of transactions, generating more than half of all contactless payments globally. In 2021, countries from the region are expected to generate $313.3bn worth of transactions, 38% more than a year ago. By 2024, this figure is forecast to surge by 170% and hit an $849.1bn value.